Across campus, Stefan sits on a picnic table some distance away, but thanks to his vamp powers, he can hear Matt tell Elena that Vicki should be discharged tomorrow. It seems their mom is still away in Virginia Beach -- with her boyfriend. Since this show is set in Virginia, their mom gets a big FAIL from me for not rushing home (but not an EPIC FAIL; I'm saving that for later). Matt then tells Elena that Vicki thinks she was attacked by a vampire. Matt chalks this up to Vicki being drunk and changes the subject. He wants to know what's up between Elena and the new guy. When Elena prefaces her answer with: "The last thing I want to do is hurt you..." Matt readily decodes her "It's not you; it's me," super-secret double-dumpage preamble, and cuts her off by announcing that he's going to the hospital to be there when his sister Vicki wakes up. Once he's gone, Elena turns towards Stefan, but he has vanished. As Elena scans the schoolyard for him, we cut to...

History Classroom: Mr. Tanner is concerned because Jeremy has skipped six of his classes in three days of school. Aunt Jenna, whose dress is cut way too low in the back for a school conference (so, sexy, off-duty stewardess it is) reminds him that Jeremy and Elena's parents recently died. Tanner pays lip service to human emotions, but only so that he can make Jenna feel like an unqualified "kid sister." He also drops the bomb that Jeremy's been doing drugs and strongly implies that an adult relative other than herself should be in charge of the Gilbert children. He reminds her that she is stuck in the impossible role of being guardian to two teens. When Jenna corrects that it's difficult, not "impossible," Tanner's all, Ha, see, that you think it's not impossible shows how impossible it's going to be! If it's not impossible, UR DOIN IT WRONG! Well, I guess he showed her.

Hospital: Stefan heads towards Vicki's room, but ducks into the shadows once he spies Matt doing likewise. When Matt gets to the room, the bed is empty. Matt looks around and is startled to find Vicki standing right behind him. He tries to talk to her, but while her lights are on, there's no one home. When he places his hands on her shoulders, she panics, fights him off and screams, "No," repeatedly. When Matt runs off to the nurses' station, Stefan zips in and enthralls. "An animal attacked you. You blacked out. That's all you remember." In a trance, Vicki repeats her new mantra. When Matt and a nurse return to Vicki's room, Stefan is gone and Vicki is sleeping soundly. Matt happens to look out in the corridor and catches sight of Stefan's retreating form. Stefan seeks refuge in a room that turns out to be the blood transfusion clinic. What are the odds? Eyes bloodshot and face all veiny, Stefan disappears behind a privacy curtain. When Matt pulls it back, all he finds is an open window. Pish. Like hospital windows even open. He looks outside, but cannot find Stefan. COMMERCIAL!